On Wednesday, Kamala Harris will become the first woman, and the first woman of color, to serve as vice president of the United States.
Twelve years ago, hundreds of thousands of people filled the National Mall to watch Barack Obama make history as the nation’s first Black president.
But when Harris takes the oath, the mall will very likely be nearly empty.
A surging pandemic had already led President-elect Joe Biden and Harris to urge supporters to watch the inauguration from home. Now, after a deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Trump, thousands of National Guard members have been deployed to protect the transfer of power against more violence.
The brazen attempt to block Congress from certifying Biden and Harris’ November election victory was unprecedented. But for Harris, the undercurrents of hate and racism it represented were not.
“It was the same thing that went through my mind when I saw Charlottesville. I mean, it’s the same thing that went through my mind when I saw a picture of Emmett Till,” Harris told NPR in an interview Thursday, when asked how she responded to images of the Confederate flag being paraded through the Senate’s hallways
“Sadly, it is not the first time I have seen a demonstration like what you are describing in the history of our country,” she added. “And and it is — it is a reminder that we still have a lot of work to do.”
Like Biden, Harris is determined to take the oath of office outside, on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, despite security concerns that have led to the garrison of soldiers inside the building for the first time since the Civil War. “I think we cannot yield to those who would try and make us afraid of who we are,” she said.
And, like Biden, Harris is equally determined to move forward with an ambitious legislative agenda despite the fact that the early weeks of their administration will likely also see a second Senate impeachment trial of Trump.
“We know how to multitask there,” Harris said. “We have to multitask, which means, as with anyone, we have a lot of priorities and we need to see them through.”
Harris spoke to NPR on the day Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion rescue package that would expand unemployment benefits, issue another round of direct stimulus payments, spend billions on coronavirus vaccination and testing efforts, and raise the federal minimum wage to $15, among many other provisions.
The full interview, including Harris’ thoughts on last week’s attack and the measure she’s calling the Biden administration’s “highest priority,” is below.
